Asian Stocks Close Lower; Europe Dips

Updated from 4:42 a.m. EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Asian stocks closed lower Tuesday, with Japanese shares falling 1.8%, after the Bank of Japan held interest rates steady and amid uncertainty over China's plans to curb bank lending.

Stocks in Europe were lower. In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 0.5% after it was officially announced the recession in the U.K. was over as gross domestic product increased but only by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, after the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed, Standard & Poor's said it may lower Japan's government debt rating unless "measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures."

The Nikkei 225 stock average in Tokyo fell 187.41 points to 10,325.28. Japan's central bank kept its key interest rate steady and upgraded its outlook for growth by projecting real gross domestic product to fall 2.5% in the fiscal year ending in March.

In China, Shanghai's benchmark stock index declined 75.02, or 2.4%, to 3,019.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 489.22, or 2.4%, to 20,109.33. Investors remain concerned that if China tries to restrict lending it could lead to a halt in the global recovery.

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